Sexy Baby is a well done film about the sexual nature of today’s society (partially due to the Internet) and the effects of that. The film follows three women of different ages and lifestyles. I would say especially for those thinking about having kids (or who have young kids) this may be one for you.Continue Reading

I found “We Are Legion: The Story Of The Hacktivists” quite fascinating. If you’re hip to everything regarding 4chan and Anonymous and such then I’m guessing you’ll find this less so, as it’s basically an explanation of how this group developed over time. One especially interesting aspect is how this online group of people (some would say ‘outcasts’) who basically stuck to humour online, banded together when they were ‘attacked’ by (more) mainstream groups (Church of Scientology, etc). From there the group seems to split between those who are just in it for the jokes, those who are in it for “good cause” activism (including helping out w/ the Middle East government downfalls) and those who simply create chaos for no real reason. Some eventually become part of the Occupy movement. If you’re not familiar w/ everything to do w/ this, definitely give it a watch: 4/5 @ HotDocs.Continue Reading

“One Fine Day” is a doc highlighting a group of separate stories about how an individual broke away from what everyone was doing (or what everyone was just ‘accepting’) and took a stand and did something about it. The stories range from African American athletes making at point at the Olympics, to fostering the fall of the Berlin Wall, to demanding more access to education in Chile, to Monks revolting in Burma, and more…Continue Reading

HotDocs arrived this past weekend — my fave fest of the city pretty much! First up for me was “Shadows of Liberty” — all about how the media, due to its corporate/for-profit ownership, ignores some stories (and pumps others) depending on what that story will do for their profits.

(Somewhat related side note: In the most basic form – far more basic then what the doc content is about – is how I find, and cringe at how, even local Toronto newscasts will make a ‘news story’ out of some crap reality show they’re showing later on that evening. Maybe fill that 5 minutes with real news instead?)Continue Reading

I finally watched “Food Inc.” At first I thought I didn’t want to watch it as I figured I wouldn’t eat certain foods again, after watching how they were made (or mass produced). Turns out I was wrong about that part — but I do buy free-range eggs now.

This is based on the American food industry, so it’s a bit different than we’re used to here in Canada (I assume? hope?) but still I’m sure a lot of it is relevant for those in other Western countries in addition to the ‘States.Continue Reading

Times are tough in the US… You’re up for reelection. How do you get across that you started your time in office having to clean up the mess from the previous administration… and that you have succeeded in cleaning some things up. You make a documentary… I guess:Continue Reading

I went to see “Urbanized” last night at the TIFF building here in Toronto. It’s from the creator of the documentary “Helvetica”. If you’re a bit of a livable cities nerd you’ll really enjoy it. It basically talks about what makes cities livable and the mistakes that have been made in the past. It also takes you around the world to show examples of where unique things are being done to fix problems and improve the quality of life for those living in cities. I thought it was quite well done, and definitely worth the watch.Continue Reading

This was the first documentary I ever saw at HotDocs (Toronto’s documentary festival). If you like politics like I do, you’ll love it. It’s a bit dated now — and, yes, many of you *now* know of Cory Booker, but this was back when he was running for the job of mayor of corrupt (and poor!) Newark, New Jersey. His opponent was the incumbent, Sharpe James, who would use intimidation and city resources to dissuade voters from voting for Booker. The trailer, below, actually doesn’t do it justice. It’s a great story and a great doc.Continue Reading

I just watched this last night. It’s a great display of how the American education system works and what has happened over the years to basically send the system downwards in the past 3-4 decades. Being from Canada, some of it is new especially as our system is different “up here”.

Waiting for “Superman” discusses everything from funding to politics to teachers and beyond but the one part I was suprised on was how it focused a lot on teachers – and specifically the teachers’ unions. It showed some great examples of how the system can work well, but there are obstacles that seem to prevent those changes from happening in all public schools in a city.Continue Reading